Tobacco curer with extinguishing means



TOBACCO CURER WITH EXTINGUISHING MEANS Filed Aug. 15, 1947 fL -i INVENTOR 5 FORREST H.SM|TH ATTORNEYS Patented Dec. 4, 1 951 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE TOBACCO CURER WITH EXTINGUISHING MEANS Forrest Hildred Smith, Kin ston, N. C.

Application August 15, 1947, Serial No. 768,764

2 Claims. (Cl. 126,93)

This invention relates to tobacco curers of the 'so-called open-flame oil burner type which are now widely used for curing bright tobacco. amples of such curers are shown in my prior Patent No. 2,051,348. Such curers consist essentially of a large number of low intensity oil burndegree and also to prevent the housing reaching a temperature where it might become a fire .hazard.

In carrying out the curing cycle which calls for several successive stages of temperature changes,

the burners are adjusted so that no one burner,

even at the highest temperatures which are required, generates sufficient heat to heat the metal of the hood to a temperature to involve any risk of igniting the dried tobacco or to a temperature .where the tobacco immediately over the burner would be heated beyond the desired temperature. It happens sometimes, through carelessness or otherwise, that in adjusting the burners to eiTect the temperature change required by the curing cycle that some individual burner may be improperly adjusted and burn with abnormal inten- 'sity suflicient to overheat the hood of that particular burner or injure the tobacco immediately contiguous'to it. Such abnormal operation of a single burner is insufiicient to significantly afiect the temperature of the barn as a whole, and consequently the operator might not be aware of this abnormal condition by inspection of the thermometers in the barn which are customarily read at intervals as the curing proceeds.

With the curers as at present constructed this hazard of a single burner getting out of adjustment can only be guarded against by periodic inspection of each burner and unless the inspections are frequent a fire may occur or the toburners, that is, a single burner in each individual hood, as covered by my patent above mentioned, and also in groups of several burners to a common hood, as they are sometimes arranged, and my improved attachment is so designed so that it may be applied to both types of curers.

In the accompanying drawings I have illus-- trated a preferred form of my invention, and in the said drawings Fig. 1 illustrates in vertical section a single burner equipped with one form of flame extinguishing attachment; and

Fig. 2 is a vertical longitudinal section through a multi-burner curer, the burners being shown at right angles to Fig. 1.

As shown in my prior patent and application above referred to, the curers consists of a number of individual oil burners arranged about the barn floor so as to provide an even distribution of heat, the number of burners varying from twenty for a small barn to thirty or more'ior'a barn of larger size. Each curer may consist of a single burner 5 .(see Fig. 1) having its individual housing 6 and connected with a suitable supply of fuel oil by a pipe indicated at I. The burner shown has an asbestos wick and the intensity of the flame is secured in the customary manner by a wick-adjusting member 8, which raises and lowers the wick.

Surrounding and overlying each wick is a sheet metal collar 9 which serves in the customary manner to provide a combustion chamber around the wick so that when the burners are function'- ing properly the oil will burn with a blue flame at various wic'k'levels. I

The hood or housing 6 consists of a sheet metal box of round or square cross section surrounding the burner and supported at the bottom by legs ID for the ingress of air to the hood to supply the oxygen for combustion and also to dilute the products of combustion so as to avoid excess temperatures. Each hood is provided with a conical cover H supported above the wall of the housing 6 by bars l2 as indicated, to permit the products of combustion from the burner and the admixed air to flow outwardly in lateral directions and thence upwardly through the barn to heat the tobacco to the temperature desired. A door [3 is provided to give access to the burner for lighting and trimming.

The structure so-far described constitutes a typical single burner unit as it is now used throughout the bright tobacco district. As stated above, in normal operation the burner is so adjusted that the temperature. of the metal forming the hood does not reach a point, even when the burner is set for the highest point desired in the curing cycle, to create a fire hazard even should the dried leaves of tobacco lodge directly on the surface of the hood. However, if the burner is not properly adjusted, as sometimes happens if the wick carbonizes unevenly, a single burner may develop a flame of abnormal intensity anclf create: fire lia'zardias; well as overheat" the immediately contiguous tobacco. In the form of my invention shown in Fig. 1, I provide anormally inoperative device for est-- tinguishing an abnormal flame.- This device consists of a metal plate l5 of a diameter slight- 1y less than the diameter of the housing fi the metal plate being suspended ati'ts center-troman eye I 6 attached to the under-sidecf thecover H at its apex. A cord l1 extends from the eye [5 through an eye-bolt l8 attached to the-lown edge of the cover at one side, thence through a second eye-bolt 19: attached tooneof. the sup porting. bars I2 for the cover; and thenceacross the hood. to a; hook .zaattached to; the, bar 1% directly opposite thewfirst mentioned bar l2, thus providing a-length of :stretched twine immediately overlying the-flame of. the' burner. 'l he twine selected is a soft cotton twine which will readily" catch: fire; if" the flame of the burner develops an intensity significantly abovet-hedesired maximum.

When the. string burns in two asdescribed, the metal plate i 5 will-drop onto theburner beneath and'byclosing; ofi? theopening in the draft collar 9-;wil11 extinguish the burner and prevent damage which otherwise might. result. As the, string is enclosed entirely within: the hood the flame re sulting from its: ignition does no harm.

Extinguishing one burner of the twenty or thirty individual burners provided to supply the necessary heat does not significantly affect the distribution. of the heat throughout the barn or the resulting temperature. If the temperature as .awhole falls it will of course be noted by the operator on; his periodic inspections and the extinguished burner will be promptly adjusted and rte-lighted;

In- Eig. 2-1 have shown the above described distinguisher' applied to the type of curer wherein several burners are enclosed in a single hood.

In. this type of'curer three or more burners are enclosed in a; single housing: 24 of rectangular eross section. Each burner & is: equipped with its: individual snuifing-plate, I 5: suspended. over the burner by-a cordi I11 arranged toextend from side wall to side of the housing 214" immediately over the burner; If anyone burner flares up to embodiment disclosed except insofar as recited the appended claims. I claima v I 1. A heating device comprising a burner, a

hood enclosing the burner and means for extinguishing" the flame of the burner upon development,of heat in excess of a predetermined value, said means comprising a metal plate suspended above the burner, a heat released member holding said plate in position above said burner; said. member extending across the. hood at a distance from: the burner: sufiicient for the member not: tob'e released by the heat of" the burner when operating at the desiredintensity but near enough; to be released by the heat of the bxrrnervvhenv the intensity of the heat rises significantly above suchpredetermined value.

'2. A heating device comprising a burner; a hood enclosing said burner and means for-ex;- tinguishing the flame of said burner upon. its development of: heat in excess of a predeter mined value, comprising a snufiing' plate; an inflammable member supporting said snufling plate above said burner, said inflammable mem".- berextending across the path of the: combustion products from, said burner at a distance from said burner sufiicient for the member not to be ignited from the heat of the burner-when operating at: the desired intensity but near enough to be ignited" when the heat from the burner rises significantly above such predi'etefi mined value. I

FORREST H'ILDRED SMITH.

REFERENCES GITEDI The followingreferenc'es are of record in the file Of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Mayo July 19.1938 

